Free Trainings: Infusing Mission Value into Your Board Structure

Southern Tier Capacity Building FREE Trainings: April 10th Infusing Mission Value into Your Board Structure FREE Training Offered April 10th: Infusing Mission Value into Your Board Structure Presented by Doug Sauer, CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits    Offered as a part of the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program Sponsored by United Way of Broome County, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, and Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation      Increasingly, Boards of Directors these days are so focused on minimizing risks that exercising proactive leadership aimed at enhancing the value impact of mission activities is too often taking a back seat.  This trend is in part because of the growing influence, if not direction, of the compliance industry - the lawyers, accountants, regulators and for, some, in-house compliance officers.   It is getting more and more difficult in this environment to cultivate and effectively and efficiently motivate and organize board leadership.  Mission, not compliance however, is what motivates and drives the passion, commitment and resources (time, effort and treasure) of good board members and leaders.  Nonprofits are challenged to build board structures that are infused with mission while providing the assurance that risks are being properly managed. This participatory session will explore board models and practices for helping your board find the right balance.   REGISTER HERE      Date: Wednesday, April 10th, 2013 Time: 9:30am to 12:30pm Cost: Free to nonprofit directors, board and staff (Board Member must register and attend in order to qualify for Capacity Building Mini-Grant and Assessment Programs) Location: Broome County Public Library                Decker Room                185 Court Street                Binghamton, NY 13901 This workshop is supported by United Way of Broome County, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, and Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation.   Southern Tier Capacity Building Mini-Grant and Assessment Programs:Nonprofits who have a Board Member attend will qualify to apply for the 2013 Southern Tier Capacity Building Mini-Grant Program, as well as special assessment support offered directly by the New York Council of Nonprofits. The  Mini-Grant Program and special assessment assistance are supported by United Way of Broome County, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation, and United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties, Inc.

FREE Training Offered June 19th: Building a Dynamic Leadership Team: Leveraging Your Management and Governance Assets Presented by Doug Sauer, CEO, New York Council of Nonprofits   Offered as a part of the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program Sponsored by United Way of Broome County, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, and Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation      No matter what the mission, size or life cycle of a nonprofit is, there always is and always will be a dynamic tension between the roles and responsibilities of governance and management.  There are basic principles and parameters to guide the boundaries, but as organizational circumstances change, including  board members, officers and executives, so does the relationship(s).  The management-governance effort has a fluidity that needs to be carefully cultivated, monitored, and managed so that the leaders on both sides of the equation form and maintain an effective and successful partnership.  This session will explore, through presentation and group discussion of case scenario's, the fundamental guiding principles involved, how to prevent unnecessary issues from arising, and knowing when and how to engage or directly intervene when matters go off course.    REGISTER HERE      Date: Wednesday, June 19th, 2013 Time: 9:30am to 12:30pm Cost: Free to nonprofit directors, board and staff (Board Member must register and attend in order to qualify for Capacity Building Mini-Grant and Assessment Programs) Location: Broome County Public Library                Decker Room                185 Court Street                Binghamton, NY 13901 This workshop is supported by United Way of Broome County, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, and Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation.   Southern Tier Capacity Building Mini-Grant and Assessment Programs:Nonprofits who have a Board Member attend will qualify to apply for the 2013 Southern Tier Capacity Building Mini-Grant Program, as well as special assessment support offered directly by the New York Council of Nonprofits. The  Mini-Grant Program and special assessment assistance are supported by United Way of Broome County, The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, The Community Foundation for South Central New York, Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation, George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation, and United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties, Inc.

About the Southern Tier Capacity Building Program Partners:  New York Council of Nonprofits is the premier governance, management, and support services organization serving charities in the state. NYCON has a membership of 3,000 charities of all types and has offices in Albany, New York City, Buffalo, Poughkeepsie, and Oneonta.  For more Information visit www.nycon.org or contact Andrew Marietta at 607-436-3124, or at amarietta@nycon.org. United Way of Broome County raises funds from the community each year to fund specific programs that help thousands of people. A donation to United Way goes directly to help people in the Broome County community--producing positive results that improve the lives of local residents. Working through 30 local partner agencies, United Way supports about 60 programs in education, income, and health, the building blocks for a good life. United Way also sponsors four direct service programs. More information about United Way of Broome County is available at www.uwbroome.org.  The Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation, Inc. was created to perpetuate the Hoyts' charitable interest and to use its resources to enhance the quality of life of the people of Broome County, primarily through judicious grantmaking. Stewart and Willma Hoyt's vision and funding, coupled with the prudent management afforded by a dedicated Board, has created a strong mechanism to seek solutions to critical issues facing our community. More information about the Stewart W. and Willma C. Hoyt Foundation is available at www.hoytfoundation.org.  The Community Foundation for South Central New York is now in its 14th year of encouraging and facilitating philanthropy in the region, and serves five counties including Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego and Tioga. Dedicated to being a flexible endowment fund for its communities, it receives both large and small contributions from donors (including individuals, businesses and other foundations) to form the endowment from which grants are made. Since its inception in 1997 the Community Foundation has awarded more than $5.5 million in grants to not-for-profit organizations in the fields of health, human services, education, arts and humanities and has received over $16 million in contributions. More information about the Community Foundation may be found on its website at www.cfscny.org. The Conrad and Virginia Klee Foundation is a private charitable foundation created in 1957 by Conrad Klee and his wife. Since that time it has made charitable grants to various qualified nonprofit organizations, primarily in Broome County, NY. The Klee Foundation is committed to promoting, nurturing and educating a healthy community.  Accordingly, particular focus is placed upon grant proposals seeking funding to support sustainable programs that can demonstrate how they can help to achieve that goal. More information about the Klee Foundation may be found on its website at http://kleefoundation.org.   George A. and Margaret Mee Charitable Foundation invests in projects and programs of qualified nonprofit organizations that support the communities of Delaware County, New York, Cameron County, Pennsylvania and Broome County, New York and occasionally the surrounding areas. The general categories of funding are Education, Community and Recreation, Health and Human Services and Arts and Culture. It is the Foundation's intent through such investments to assist and support the nonprofit organizations in addressing the current issues and challenges within these communities, thereby working towards positive change and impact in the lives of those they serve.  More information about the Mee Foundation may be found at http://www.meefoundation.org. United Way of Delaware and Otsego Counties, Inc. covers two large, rural Counties and assumes a pro-active role in working collaboratively with organizations to maximize the effects of limited resources in meeting Health and Human Service needs. The United Way seeks to be the leader in improving the quality of life in Delaware and Otsego Counties, particularly in terms of addressing the health and human service needs of people. Priority areas are a Community-wide needs assessment, the advocacy of issues, support for the needed programs that serve the poor and working poor, and the on-going evaluation of United Way funded programs and services. More information about the United Way may be found athttp://www.unitedwaydo.org/

Roberson Museum and Science Center expanding its exhibits, attracting new visitors

The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin featured a recent article on the Roberson Museum and recent efforts there:

The Roberson has an unrivaled collection, inspired exhibits and a long pedigree as a museum.

Still, Roberson Museum and Science Center leaders say all that means nothing without one crucial element: visitors.

"The greatest measure of success is through-the-door traffic," said Terry McDonald, Roberson's executive director. "It's a measure of whether we're doing what we need to do for the community."

The museum staff and its board must be doing something right. Countering years of stagnating attendance and decreased funding, museum attendance is up 23 percent from last year

This year, 6,069 patrons have visited the 30 Front St. landmark, compared to 4,919 last year, said Jason Fiume, the museum's marking manager.

The 2010 attendance number doesn't include the more than 4,000 people who came to the museum's newly resurrected two-day arts and crafts festival in September, Fiume said.

Nor does it include the number of students who pass through the museum on group visits. That number is also up, museum officials said. During the 2009-2010 school year, 7,753 students visited. The previous school year, 7,730 students came.
Numbers are also up for school outreach initiatives, from 9,775 in 2008-2009 to 12,450 in 2009-2010.

"This is a significant increase from the previous year," Fiume said.
But there's more work to be done.

Tradition, innovation
Museum leaders must essentially serve two masters: tradition and innovation.

Friday, the museum's venerable Home for the Holidays exhibit formally opens. As it has for decades, the exhibit features holiday trees decorated in the traditions of other countries, along with trees decorated by local nonprofits and other organizations.

The Roberson mansion part of the museum is lushly decorated for Christmas -- and visited every year through Jan. 2 -- in what has become a Binghamton tradition for local families. The museum's planetarium will offer its decades-old shows featuring the Christmas star on equipment dating from the 1960s.

Updating the planetarium is one of three initiatives planned for next year.
Read more here.

How Much Does Your Program Really Cost?

From the National Council of Nonprofits' Nonprofit Knowledge Matters October Newsletter:

Your Mission: What Does it Really Cost?
Too often the grant or contract a nonprofit receives to deliver a program or service, whether from a foundation or the government, simply does not cover the full cost of delivering that program or service. This problem is highlighted in the National Council's recent Special Report: Costs, Complexification, and Crisis: Government’s Human Services Contracting "System" Hurts Everyone. The report illustrates how government contracts that do not cover the full cost of services cut into the muscle of the nonprofit providing the services, and ultimately weaken our communities.

In fact, failure to cover the full cost of services and programs was the #1 problem uncovered by the first-ever national survey documenting the serious and widespread problems experienced by nonprofit human service providers under contract with local, state and federal governments. View the findings from the survey conducted by the Urban Insitute.

The "full cost recovery" problem is echoed by the experience of nonprofits receiving funding from private philanthropy. Foundation grants frequently fall short of covering the actual cost to the nonprofit of delivering programs and services covered by the grant. For instance, a survey by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) found that only 20 percent of foundations say that their grants "often or always" include the appropriate overhead to cover the amount of time grantees spend reporting on their grants. Read a national study by GEO.

In order for nonprofits to be sustainable this paradigm has to change.

Whether from the perspective of capacity builders, or nonprofits that are striving to build their own capacity, we should recognize that part of the problem – and a big step towards a solution – lies with nonprofits themselves. Here are three things you can do:

1. Know how to calculate the full cost of delivering programs and services – not the "budgeted" costs (often a euphemism for anticipated or projected costs) but the actual costs of service delivery.
2. Advocate for your organization by communicating the actual costs of program delivery to funding sources.
3. Communicate to funders that shortchanging nonprofits by not paying the full cost of service delivery is a barrier to the sustainability of individual nonprofits.

The bottom line is that without knowing how much to ask for, and without receiving full cost recovery, nonprofits will never be able to build their capacity or provide sustainable services to our communities.

Wondering where to start? The National Council's Capacity Building Hub shares resources to help nonprofits understand and calculate the full cost of delivering their mission, and to help grantmakers understand the importance of full cost recovery.

"Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact" Debuts Today

The Foundation Center, the nation's leading authority on philanthropy, has launched an online database of proven approaches to measuring and analyzing the impact of social investments. As philanthropists and the nonprofit community shift towards more strategic approaches to get a "social return," evaluation activities must also operate at a higher level. TRASI ("Tools and Resources for Assessing Social Impact") addresses these growing needs by offering tools and methodologies that place a premium on evidence and metrics in tracking progress.

"Measuring the effectiveness of social programs has always been a challenge because it's not just about the numbers. TRASI helps organizations meet that challenge and go beyond simply determining whether projected outcomes were achieved," said Lawrence T. McGill, the Foundation Center's vice president for research. "The organizations that have generously shared their own strategic methods for measuring impact will greatly help others to find a solution that is a good fit for them."

Developed in partnership with McKinsey & Co., the assessment approaches in TRASI were authored by a range of organizations, including social investors, foundations, NGOs, and microfinance institutions. The Better Business Bureau, USAID, Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Center for Effective Philanthropy are among them. The resources in the database range from off-the-shelf tools and concrete methodologies to generalized best practices and are complemented by multimedia features and social networking tools.

Each approach has been carefully indexed against a common set of key elements and presented in a way that makes it easy to compare their relative merits. The key elements include: who the approach applies to, what kind of organization or evaluation the approach is best suited for, and the costs and techniques involved in its implementation. Each approach was thoroughly reviewed by an Expert Review Panel convened by the New York University Stern School of Business.

Online Kick-off Event
The Center is hosting an online event to kick-off the TRASI launch. Beginning at 2:00 pm EDT on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, a live chat with some of the individuals from the Expert Review Panel will be held. Anyone interested in learning more about impact assessment and the TRASI platform is invited to attend by visiting http://trasicommunity.ning.com/.


About the Foundation Center
Established in 1956 and today supported by close to 550 foundations, the Foundation Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. and, increasingly, global grantmakers and their grants — a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector. It also operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance knowledge of philanthropy at every level. Thousands of people visit the Center's web site each day and are served in its five regional library/learning centers and its network of 450 funding information centers located in public libraries, community foundations, and educational institutions nationwide and beyond. For more information, please visit http://www.foundationcenter.org/ or call (212) 620-4230.